Profile: As bad as the Royals' catching situation was in 2012, it was a real surprise when Salvador Perez was called up in the second half less than 400 (mostly unimpressive) plate appearances above A-ball. The 21 year-old Perez was a good catching prospect, but few thought his bat was ready. He proceeded to hit .331/.361/.473 over 158 plate appearances in the majors. The batting average on balls in play is obviously inflated, and he never hit close to that well in the minors, but he did not seem overmatched, either. Perez almost never walks, and his power is more notional and "raw" now than something actually witnessed in games. But he has great contact skills. Perez is up because of his defensive reputation. The bat could use more work. A more reasonable projection for his offense in 2012 might be .270/.300/.400, but a) that is not bad for a catcher, and b) he will only be 22. Do not pay for him expecting a fantasy superstar. But he is going to get playing time, and there is decent potential there -- think Yadier Molina in a good year. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Perez is slated to be the Royals' primary catcher in 2012. Don't expect him to hit close to .331 again, but there is long-term potential here.

Profile: Though a torn lateral meniscus derailed the first half of the 2012 season for Perez, he proved his worth and his mettle when he returned and exceeded everyone's expectations with a .301-11-39 second half in just 305 plate appearances. He was always known, throughout his time in the minors, as someone who would provide a strong batting average, but the power he showed was far more than anyone expected. His contact rates are tremendous and he doesn't whiff very often, though he could improve his on-base percentage if he would become just a little more selective at the plate and draw a few extra walks. Still, he gives very little to complain about and should be a staple behind the plate in Kansas City for a long time, having signed a five-year deal during the spring of 2012. He might not hit for the same power moving forward, but he should definitely be considered once the top five at the position are off the board. (Howard Bender)

The Quick Opinion: A quick ascension through the minors made some skeptical, but after a solid call-up in 2011 and an even more impressive 2012 that was delayed by knee surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, Perez has made believers of many. He'll provide a solid average with decent pop, and while he might not be one of the top ten backstops off the board in drafts this year, he'll certainly provide stats worthy of that spot by season's end.

Profile: Salvador Perez has some positive traits that help his fantasy value. First, he is a contact-first player. If the ball is near the strike zone, he can hit it for line drives with decent authority. His hitting approach leads to a good career batting average on balls in play (.315) and therefore a plus career average (.301). Since he is not a fly ball hitter, he doesn't get a ton of home runs, but he will hit between 10 and 15 most seasons. His aggressive nature brings out his weakness -- he does not walk (4% career). Pitchers are taking advantage of this flaw more and more often. While his swing rate has been around 50% the last two seasons, pitches he has seen in the zone have dropped from 48% to 47%, and contact on those pitches has dropped from 88% to 80%. If he is to take a step forward, he needs to improve his plate discipline. If healthy, he should catch most of the Royals games and get plenty of plate appearances. He should also probably hit either fifth or sixth and have significantly more RBIs than runs. Expect no stolen bases from from him as he has a total of two in his minor and major league career. I see him lumped in with several catchers in the six to 15 range. The difference with Perez and the other catchers around him is the batting average. Others will hit for more power, but if it's batting average you need, feel free to reach for the Royal backstop. (Jeff Zimmerman)

The Quick Opinion: Salvador Perez's value comes from heavy use from his manager, an aggressive contact-driven approach which leads to a good batting average, decent power, and a complete lack of walks.

Profile: Salvador Perez is one of the better catchers in baseball these days, but his observed offensive production has declined each season since his debut. Some of that is likely random variation up and down in batted ball luck. Moreover, the 25-year-old's home run power in 2014 took something of a leap. However, last season was easily his worst at the plate, and it was not all bad luck. His batting average on balls in play dropped to a career-worst .278, and though some of that is likely due to bad luck, Perez is an extremely slow right-handed hitter. Even more problematic is the seeming lack of improvement when it comes to drawing walks. The lack of walks is counterbalanced by Perez' ability to get his bat on the ball, but his strikeout rate also took a jump in 2014. Generally, pitchers have figured out that Perez will swing at anything, and his swing rate took a big jump. The lack of plate discipline obviously is hurting his walk and strikeout rates, and it might also be hurting him when he does make contact on balls he really can't handle -- his rate of pop-ups took a big leap. To put Perez' pop-up rate in perspective, it was higher than Mike Moustakas's in 2014. Yikes. The Royals seem dedicated to playing Perez into the ground (he played in 138 games in 2013, 150 in 2014 not counting the playoffs), so that might be taking its toll. All that being said, if he can play all those games and stay healthy, he's valuable. There is upside given his age, but he might also get hurt, and the lack of development in his plate approach is troubling. Getting .275/.310/.430 from a catcher will help in any league, just do not treat him as anything like a fantasy superstar. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Just being a "top catcher" does not make a player a fantasy superstar. Salvador Perez should be drafted in every league, but a poor plate approach limits his upside, despite his age.

Profile: Perez has a ton of surplus value for the Royals due to an incredibly team-friendly contract and a good (if overrated) glove at a difficult position. He also had a terrible season at the plate as he continues to swing at everything and rarely walk. It jumps out that since Perez' 2011 debut, his overall offensive production has declined. He has never walked much (to put it kindly), but even for him, 2015 was poor, with a walk rate under three percent. Perez does a good job of making contact, but over the last two seasons he has been striking out more often than in the past, so there is not progress there, either. One positive for Perez is that his home run power has increased, and he hit 21 in 553 plate appearances in 2015. Still, overall, Perez's offense has stagnated. Perez is big and might be getting worn down as the Royals play him every day as if the team can't live without him -- he has averaged more than 140 games a season the last three years. In fantasy baseball, the 26-year-old is not a star, and how much you want to pay for his positional value depends on how important you think positional scarcity is in fantasy. Perez plays a lot (although that might be wearing him down and putting him at injury risk), and that will help his counting stats. He should be drafted and started in almost all leagues, but that is more a statement about catchers than about Perez. There is a some upside given his age and physical skills, but do not bet too heavily on it. Despite the hype and the winning personality, Perez has never performed as a star in real baseball where defense does matter, and in fantasy, where it does not, he's even further off. Do not overpay. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Salvador is a good defender at a tough position with a great smile and an unbelievably (seriously, what was his agent thinking?) team friendly contract. None of that really helps a fantasy team. He is still one of the better fantasy catchers, but all that means is that one should not be spending too much on catchers.

Profile: Perez seems to be catching every game for the Royals. Over the past four seasons, he has played in 569 games, trailing only Buster Posey at catcher. While Perez’s catching traits are some the league’s best, they don’t count in fantasy. The 26-year-old has transformed himself from being a source of batting average to a source of power. His batting average is on a five-year decline (.301 to .292 to .260 to .260 to .247), which matches up with his strikeout rate going up (9% to 12% to 14% to 15% to 22%) as his contact rate has shrunk (91% to 87% to 85% to 83% to 79%). At the same time, his home runs have gone up each season (11 to 13 to 17 to 21 to 22). The change has morphed Perez into the standard catcher: all power, no average. Finding a positive for 2017 is tough. He has no speed and he rarely walks. Maybe his 22% strikeout rate may regress after jumping 7% in 2016. Finally, Perez wears down as the season goes on because he is used so much. His career triple slash line is.282/.312/.456 in the season's first half and.263/.293/.410 in the second. Owners can try to ride the productive first half and then trade him before his production drops. (Jeff Zimmerman)

The Quick Opinion: Perez may be a bit overrated, but he is still productive compared to other catchers. He has changed his profile from high average, low power to low average, high power.